(b) False or misleading statements or omissions. No savings association or director, officer, agent, employee, affiliated person, or other person participating in the conduct of the affairs of such association nor any person filing or seeking approval of any application shall knowingly:

1. (1) Make any written or oral statement to the appropriate Federal banking agency or to an agent, representative or employee of the appropriate Federal banking agency that is false or misleading with respect to any material fact or omits to state a material fact concerning any matter within the jurisdiction of the appropriate Federal banking agency or
2. (2) Make any such statement or omission to a person or organization auditing a savings association or otherwise preparing or reviewing its financial statements concerning the accounts, assets, management condition, ownership, safety, or soundness, or other affairs of the association.

(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this paragraph (d):

1. (i) FinCEN means the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury.
2. (ii) Institution-affiliated party means any institution-affiliated party as that term is defined in sections 3(u) and 8(b)(9) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(u) and 1818(b)(9)).
3. (iii) SAR means a Suspicious Activity Report.

(3) SARs required. A savings association or service corporation shall file a SAR with the appropriate Federal law enforcement agencies and the Department of the Treasury on the form prescribed by the appropriate Federal banking agency and in accordance with the form's instructions, by sending a completed SAR to FinCEN in the following circumstances:

1. (i) Insider abuse involving any amount. Whenever the savings association or service corporation detects any known or suspected Federal criminal violation, or pattern of criminal violations, committed or attempted against the savings association or service corporation or involving a transaction or transactions conducted through the savings association or service corporation, where the savings association or service corporation believes that it was either an actual or potential victim of a criminal violation, or series of criminal violations, or that it was used to facilitate a criminal transaction, and it has a substantial basis for identifying one of its directors, officers, employees, agents or other institution-affiliated parties as having committed or aided in the commission of a criminal act, regardless of the amount involved in the violation.
2. (ii) Violations aggregating $5,000 or more where a suspect can be identified. Whenever the savings association or service corporation detects any known or suspected Federal criminal violation, or pattern of criminal violations, committed or attempted against the savings association or service corporation or involving a transaction or transactions conducted through the savings association or service corporation and involving or aggregating $5,000 or more in funds or other assets, where the savings association or service corporation believes that it was either an actual or potential victim of a criminal violation or series of criminal violations, or that it was used to facilitate a criminal transaction, and it has a substantial basis for identifying a possible suspect or group of suspects. If it is determined prior to filing this report that the identified suspect or group of suspects has used an alias, then information regarding the true identity of the suspect or group of suspects, as well as alias identifiers, such as drivers' license or social security numbers, addresses and telephone numbers, must be reported.
3. (iii) Violations aggregating $25,000 or more regardless of potential suspects. Whenever the savings association or service corporation detects any known or suspected Federal criminal violation, or pattern of criminal violations, committed or attempted against the savings association or service corporation or involving a transaction or transactions conducted through the savings association or service corporation and involving or aggregating $25,000 or more in funds or other assets, where the savings association or service corporation believes that it was either an actual or potential victim of a criminal violation or series of criminal violations, or that it was used to facilitate a criminal transaction, even though there is no substantial basis for identifying a possible suspect or group of suspects.

4. (iv) Transactions aggregating $5,000 or more that involve potential money laundering or violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Any transaction (which for purposes of this paragraph (d)(3)(iv) means a deposit, withdrawal, transfer between accounts, exchange of currency, loan, extension of credit, purchase or sale of any stock, bond, certificate of deposit, or other monetary instrument or investment security, or any other payment, transfer, or delivery by, through, or to a financial institution, by whatever means effected) conducted or attempted by, at or through the savings association or service corporation and involving or aggregating $5,000 or more in funds or other assets, if the savings association or service corporation knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that:

   1. (A) The transaction involves funds derived from illegal activities or is intended or conducted in order to hide or disguise funds or assets derived from illegal activities (including, without limitation, the ownership, nature, source, location, or control of such funds or assets) as part of a plan to violate or evade any law or regulation or to avoid any transaction reporting requirement under Federal law;
   2. (B) The transaction is designed to evade any regulations promulgated under the Bank Secrecy Act; or
   3. (C) The transaction has no business or apparent lawful purpose or is not the sort in which the particular customer would normally be expected to engage, and the institution knows of no reasonable explanation for the transaction after examining the available facts, including the background and possible purpose of the transaction.

(12) Confidentiality of SARs. A SAR, and any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, are confidential, and shall not be disclosed except as authorized in this paragraph (d)(12).

1. (i) Prohibition on disclosure by savings associations or service corporations - (A) General rule. No savings association or service corporation, and no director, officer, employee, or agent of a savings association or service corporation, shall disclose a SAR or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR. Any savings association or service corporation, and any director, officer, employee, or agent of any savings association or service corporation that is subpoenaed or otherwise requested to disclose a SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, shall decline to produce the SAR or such information, citing this section and 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(2)(A)(i), and shall notify the following of any such request and the response thereto:

   1. (A) Director, Litigation Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or the appropriate FDIC region, as appropriate and
   2. (B) The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

2. (ii) Rules of construction. Provided that no person involved in any reported suspicious transaction is notified that the transaction has been reported, paragraph (d)(1) of this section shall not be construed as prohibiting:

   1. (A) The disclosure by a savings association or service corporation, or any director, officer, employee or agent of a savings association or service corporation of:

      (1) A SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, to FinCEN or the appropriate Federal banking agency or any Federal, state, or local law enforcement agency; or any Federal regulatory authority that examines the savings association or service corporation for compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, or any state regulatory authority administering a state law that requires compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act or otherwise authorizes the state authority to ensure that the institution complies with the Bank Secrecy Act; or

      (2) The underlying facts, transactions, and documents upon which a SAR is based, including, but not limited to, disclosures:

      (i) To another financial institution, or any director, officer, employee or agent of a financial institution, for the preparation of a joint SAR; or

      (ii) In connection with certain employment references or termination notices, to the full extent authorized in 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(2)(B); or

   2. (B) The sharing by a savings association or service corporation, or any director, officer, employee, or agent of a savings association or service corporation, of a SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, within the corporate organizational structure of the savings association or service corporation, for purposes consistent with title II of the Bank Secrecy Act as determined by regulation or in guidance.
3. (iii) Prohibition on disclosure by the appropriate Federal banking agency. The appropriate Federal banking agency will not, and no officer, employee or agent of appropriate Federal banking agency shall disclose a SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, except as necessary to fulfill official duties consistent with title II of the Bank Secrecy Act. For purposes of this section, “official duties” shall not include the disclosure of a SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, in response to a request for use in a private legal proceeding or in response to a request for disclosure of non-public information under 12 CFR 4.33 or 12 CFR part 309, as appropriate.
4. (iv) Limitation on liability. A savings association or service corporation and any director, officer, employee or agent of a savings association or service corporation that makes a voluntary disclosure of any possible violation of law or regulation to a government agency or makes a disclosure pursuant to this section or any other authority, including a disclosure made jointly with another institution, shall be protected from liability for any such disclosure, or for failure to provide notice of such disclosure to any person identified in the disclosure, or both, to the full extent provided by 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(3).

(3) Applicable indices. For the purpose of this reporting requirement, the term “adjustable-rate mortgage index” means any of the adjustable-rate mortgage indices calculated and published by a Federal Home Loan Bank or the Federal Home Loan Bank Board on or before August 9, 1989.

Editorial Note:At 76 FR 49047, Aug. 9, 2011, § 163.180 was added; however, there are two paragraphs (d)(12)(i)(A).